Latch for hopper car doors



Sept. 9, 1952 G. B. DOREY LATCH FOR HOPPER CAR DOORS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed Nov. 9, 1948 Sept. 9, 1952 DORIEY 2,609,759

LATCH FOR HOPPER CAR DOORS Filed NOV. 9, 1948 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Q :2 a: N m x m |m= a A 5r 9 \V/ A \T /N VE N T R Patented Sept. 9, 1952 2,609,759 LATCH FORHOPPER can DOORS George B. Dorey, Westmount, Quebemr Canada,

assignor to Enterprise Railway Equipment Gompany, Chicago, 111., a corporaticn of Illinois Application November 9, 19iaseria1Na-5aos1 3 Claims. 01. 105-308) My-invention relatestoanimproved latch for hopper cardoors suitable for. the discharge doors of railway hopper cars andthe like. i

It isanobjectof my-invention to provide an automatically operating. latchof simple constructionfor retaining the swinging edge of a pivotally mountedsdoor in closed position.

Another object of my invention is to provide alatch for a hopperdoor in .the form of a substantiallyhorizontally disposed bar pivotally mountedcn the outerface of a pivotally mounted door and which bar will have a vertically depending latc-h portion intermediate itsends to engageqwith akeeper fixedly mounted on the hopper. r i

A still further object of my invention is to provide an improved mounting structure for supporting a latch ofthe character described.

My invention further resides in certain other detailsof construction. such as will be fully pointed out hereinaiter and claimed.

For. further comprehension of my invention referencemay be" had tothe accompanying drawings, wherein: r

Fig. l isa vertical side elevational View of Part of a hopper showing my improved latch applied thereto, said view showing the door in open position as indicated by iulllines and in partially closed position as; indicated by conventional dottedanddashlinesh Fig. 2 is a view of thestructure shown in Fig. l as viewedirom right to leftlandshowing the door structure onone. side of the center. sill of a railway hopper car. v v

Fig. 3 is a sectional. plan. view taken through a line corresponding substantially to a line 33 of Fig. 1. Q

Fig. 4 is a fractional sectional elevational view on an enlargedlscale as taken through the door and on a line 4'4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a detached elevational view of the latch barshown in'Fig. 2.

Fig. 6- is avertical'elevationalside view or the door and door framing with its related car structure, said'view showing thedocr in closed and latche'dlposition.

Fig. 7 is a view of the structure shown in Fig. 6 as viewed from right'to left.

Fig. 8 is a fractional vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale as taken through the latch and on a line 8-8. of Fig. '7.

Fig. 9 is a fractional vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale astaken through the latch and on a line 9-9 of Fig. '7.

In said drawings my invention is shown as applied to a so-called W-type of hopper car wherein the car structure is indicated by a center sill lfl and the hopper structure at oneside of the sill is indicated by upper and lower oppositely sloping longitudinally extending floors at H and l2-respectively and inner andouter hopper side walls indicated'at l3 and l4'respectively.

Theedge. portions of the respective ilo'orsand side walls define the boundaries of a discharge v 2 opening and positionedlin the said opening is the door frame member A. Pivotally mounted at [5 adjacent the upper margin of the frame A is the discharge door B, saiddoor being preferably of pan shaped construction. with upstanding flanges as; at 16, ll,- 18 and 19, the latter being inclined outwardly from the. main surface 28 of thedoor for the major portion of itslength in order to prevent lodgement of lading on. the flange when the door is inopenposition.

The pan shaped door whenin closed position is arranged to enclosethe .framewith the surface 29 of the door abutting the edge portion 2| or the frame. Said frame A is preferably of T shape with a centrally disposed reinforcing flange 22 outstanding from the portion of the frame which overlies the side wallsIand bottom floor.

The door 'is reinforced adjacent its swinging edge by a beam member 23 which is preferably of Z shape formation" and positionedwith the web 24 normalto the body'of the door and with the flanges 25 and 26 extending respectively up wardly and downwardly from said'w'eb; the upwardly extending flange 25b'eing secured to the door plate.

Pivotally associatedwith the beam 23 isthe latch member'C which co-operates with a keeper D for maintaining the door in closed position. Said latch member 0' ismounted in the angle presented by theweb 24 and upwardly disposed flange 25 of the beam. Thelatch member includes an elongated body portion 21 pivoted at one end at 23 andhaving'itsopposite-end formed with a laterally projecting handle portion 29 for convenience in operation. Intermediate its ends the latch is provided with a downwardly extending stem portion 30 which is preferably formed integrally with the body portion 21 and projects downwardly through a slot 3! in the web 24 of the beam to engage with the keeper D.

The guiding and supporting means for the latch includes brackets E and F respectively disposed adjacent the respective ends of the latch and an intermediate supplementary guide 32 for supporting the stem portion 30 of the latch, said last named guide being in the form of an angle shaped member having a slot 33 through which the portion 3llextends. The said angle shaped member is preferably attached to thebeam mem ber 23 by welded joints as indicated at 34.

The bracket E whichis located at the pivotal end of the latch includes a wall portion 35 which overlies the latch and is extended downwardly and secured to the depending flange 26 of the beam at 36 and at a location above the'latch bar the bracket is directed inwardly and secured to the door plate at 31.

7 against inward movement; said plate being. welded to the door and beam as indicated at 40 and 4|. The wall 38 is spaced from the inner guiding plate by means of ferrule 43 formed integrally with the guiding wall 38.

Pivotally mounted on the ferrule 43 and disposed between the walls 38 and 38 is the locking dog G which is arranged to swing in the path of movement of the latch and lock the same in operative latching relation. Said dog G is arranged to swing to an overbalanced position as indicated in Fig. 2 and to be retained in such position by contact between an operating lug 42 and the edge of the bracket F.

Extending outwardly from the bracket F, Figs. 7 and 9, are projections 44 and 45 which form fulcrums for receiving an operating bar as indicated conventionally at 46 whereby pressure may be exerted on the operating handle portion of the latch, it being understood that the bar co-operates with the upper fulcrum 44 for forcing the latch bar downwardly and with the lower fulcrum 45 for releasing the latch.

The keeper D with which the stem portion 30 of the latch is adapted to engage is securely attached to the undersideof the hopper by rivets as indicated at 4'! and 48 and is provided with an aperture 49 within which the stem 38 extends to latch the door in closed position. Leading to the locking face 50 of the'aperture 49 there is an inclined runway on which the outer end of the stern portion rides as the door is moved to closed position and whereby the latch is displaced upwardly.

The outer end of the stem portion is inclined as indicated at 52 to ease the upward movement of .the latch and the outer engaging surfac of the latch is tapered as at 53 to provide a limited degree of wedging action between the latch and keeper as the former is forced to full latching position.

By forming the stem integrally with the latch bar and then guiding the said stem at two locations as provided by the web of the 2 bar and the bracing angle my improved construction provides a rigid construction well adapted t withstand shock loads.

What I claim is:

1. In a railway car having ahopper including a discharge opening and a door pivotally mounted adjacent one side of the opening for closing the latter; an improved latching means for retaining the door in closed position including inter-engaging means respectively carried by the door and hopper; said means carried by the door including a beam member extending along the swinging edge of the door, said beam member being of Z shape with one flange overlying the door and secured thereto and with the other flange extending downwardly and the intervening web outstanding from the door, and a latch bar disposed in the angle presented by the overlying flange and the web of the 2 bar, said bar at one end having a pivotal connection with the beam and having an integrally formed depending stem extending through the web of the Z bar; guide means for said depending stem, additional guide means on each side of and spaced from said stem and cooperating with said latch bar for maintaining the same and said stem for. free movement substantially in a plane so that substantially no wobbling thereof takes place when said door is slammed to closed position; and said means carried by the hopper including a keeper having an aperture disposed in alinement with the stem of the latch member and arranged to accommodate said stem to latch the door in closed position.

2. In a railway car having a hopper including a discharge opening and a door pivotally mounted adjacent one side of the opening for closing the latter; an improved latching device for retaining the door in closed position including interengaging means carried by the car body and door respectively; said means carried by the door including a pivotally mounted latch bar extending along the swinging edge of the door, said bar having intermediateit ends a depending stem extending downwardly from the bar towards the free edge of the door, and said means carried by the body including a keeper having an aperture therein for receiving the stem of the latch and thereby retaining the door in closed position; and means for supporting and guiding the latch bar stem, said means including a plurality of walls outstanding from the door and arranged in spaced relation, said walls being apertured' to receive the stem of the latch and engage the latter at a plurality of locations, said means also including spaced walls carried by said door on opposite sides of said stem and cooperating with said bar to guide the same for free movement substantially in a plane so that substantially no wobbling of said stem and bar take place when said door is slammed to closed position.

3. A closure for a hopper opening inclined away from the vertical comprising, in combination, an imperforate door hinged along its upper side and arranged to swing from a pendant position to an inclined position to close said opening and to have lading bearing against the same tending to open it, a keeper extending from the underside of the hopper and underneath said door in closed position and having a latch shoulder facing the central portion of said opening, a latch lever extending along the lower margin of the outside of said door, pivoted at one end thereto and having a centrally depending integrally formed stem portion for engaging said shoulder to latch said door closed, said keeper having an inclined runway facing said door when open and said depending stem portion being arranged to engage said runway as said door is swung to closed position to move said stem automatically into position where it can move into latching engagement with said shoulder when said door is fully closed guide means carried by said door for said depending stem, and additional guide means carried by said door on each side of and spaced from the first mentioned guide means and cooperating with said latch lever to guide the same for free planar movement so that substantially no wobbling of said stem and bar takes place when said door is slammed to closed position GEORGE B. DOREY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

